Your Perfect Luongo Trade?

[oldnews]

I beg to differ.

Ballard, Raymond, Booth and Malhotra all have close to none if not negative value.

[Chronic.Canuck]

This! We should also try to get Stamkos!

Edit: Haha, imagine having Crosby on the first line, Malkin on the second, Stamkos on the third and Henrik on the fourth...

[Pears]

PP1:

Stamkos-Crosby-Malkin

Hank-Dank

[Canuck Surfer]

I beg to differ.

Ballard, Raymond, Booth and Malhotra all have close to none if not negative value.

[Smashian Kassian]

Connor; is your aspiration to manage a crack house?

Chipping in on Kassian's cpmments;

Ballard is a perfectly fine defenceman stuck behind Edler and Hamhuis. He's second pair at worst on 70% of teams and has world class speed. Plus he's funny! There are comparable contracts all over the league. His cap is only a problem for us on 3rd pair...

Raymond; any bets we would get a 2knd round pick for him if there was a so called deadline this year (not that we would be selling)? A plus player with world class speed and 50 points on his resume for $2 mill? We would give that up to get him as depth for a run. Again the problem with Raymond, like Ballard is we did not trade him when we no longer needed him regularly and he's behind better guys. Our league, with lower cap coming, will see expiring contracts as having more and more value in the future; check recent trades in the NBA...

Malhotra? Maybe a point; but perhaps with an off season to train his recovery will see some legs? Moot point though for several reasons starting with an NTC clause and an expiring contract. We would keep him for any run this year as he free's up much of the Twin's O'zone draws by effectively taking all our D ones. Trade value no, but actually valuable to us.

Booth? Great contract no, but a 215 lb absolute stud athlete with 30 goal / 60 point potential (without being on a first line or getting premium PP minutes) is actually still a very valuable asset. What he needs is a play maker on his line. He was brought in for size and athleticism so him and Kesler could physically have the wherewithal to dual with top lines like Getzlaf/Perry/Ryan or Thornton's line. We would be in a hole without him, he's so valuable he will CANNOT be traded unless that element is replaced.

[Canuck Surfer]

Cheers!

Although I would look at upgrades with Ballard if the chance arose. Realistically for a big ugly right side defender, but?

Should the league actually place that rule about optioning to keep or send both half the salary, or half the cap (or both with multiple teams); it would allow cash rich teams like Vancouver some interesting trades. One that I dreamt up, lets call it my ideal trade;

- Lou and Ballard for Campbell and Bjugstad. We would pay half Ballard (not Lou's) salary, and they would absorb half of Campbell's cap. (Just shy of $6 mill in cap relief for us net). They certainly get better, and financial relief (Lou and 1/2 Ballards salary is almost identical to Campbell's) which makes it attractive. Ballards salary also expires almost exactly when all their young guns come off ELC's. We are easily better now, get our money back in long play off runs (plus have cap money for deadline deals), and in the future with Bjuggy! Win /Win trade!

Wow I agree with everything, I happy someone has the same view points as me.

Ballard is a huge advantage for us to have a player of that calibre on the 3rd pair IMO, and the chemistry with Tanev only makes them both better and our defense core better overall. Maybe not worth the contract but we can handle it and still have room so it is no issue for me, plus he is capable of moving up the line-up and playing in a better position to earn that money.

Raymond I think we could garner around the same return that Florida got for Higgins, maybe a 2nd if a team was desperate, but currently I think a 3rd+ is more reasonable. Although I do think he is capable of being the player he once was.

Malhotra missed his entire summer training last summer, so he should be better whenever hockey gets going, he is still great on faceoffs, great on the PK, skates well, brings leadership and intangables, and he's not a great offensive player but I think he posses good enough offensive skill to be a 3rd liner, he's by no means useless IMO.

Booth I agree 100% on, he's something we don't have in any other player on our roster. A rare comity that is entertaining and can still create chances and be effective physically even when he isn't on his A game. I don't see anyway we can trade him.